Insulated rail-joint.



No. 878,821. PATENTED DEG. 1'7, 1907.

B. WOLHAUPTER. INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7 1906.

receiving rail in such UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

BENJAMIN WOLHAUPTER, or NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR To THE RAIL JOINT COMPANYLOF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

- INSULATED RAIL-JOINT;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1007.

Application filed August 7. 1906. Serial No. 329.616.

ing means for effectively insulating the rail base of any type of insulated rail joint, while at the same time baseinsulation.

In those types of insulated rail joints wherein-base insulation is interposed between the rail .base and the joint sup ort or bridge, and no provision is made for re ieving such insulation from the 'load, the lifetime thereof is greatly impaired through the combined influences of the traffic and weather conditions. It is exceedingly diiiicult to secure an insulating material or composition that will withstand those conditions when em loyed as a base insulation between the rai base and the joint support or bridge, inasmuch as it iswell known' to railway engineers that the vertical movement of the rail ends of any railjoint, and particularly of the joint, will have a tendency to shear or cut out the insulating base piece of the said joint, and will also have a entirely dispensing with the tendency, under the pressure of the load, to

\ cause the said insulation to flow and disintegrate especially where the insulation has become wet or damp. It is, therefore, the

purpose of the present invention to obviate these objectionable results in insulated rail joints, by entirely dispensing with base insulation, while at the same time maintaining a thorough and effective insulation of the base portlon of the joint.

With these and many other objects in view which will be familiar to those skilled in the art, the invention consists in the novel concomblnatlon, and arrangement of struction, parts hereinafter more fully described, illus- 'trated,'and claimed.

. The essential feature of the invention involved in maintaining a normal seplaration of the and joint proper from t e jointv support or base, embodiment in a multiplicity of structures 5 on account of the great variety of joints with l which he invention may be associated also, i on account of the variety of expedients that may be resorted to for the purpose of. maintaining the separation referred to and atthe vsame time ermitting the rails and joint roper to see and rest upon a rigid supportmg base when the load is passing thereover. However, for purposes of illustration, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment for carrying the invention into effect, and in these drawings, 7

Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of an insulated rail joint equipped with an improved pase construction in accordance with this invention. Fig. '2 is a side elevation thereof;

Like references designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying the invention into effect, any

is necessarily susceptible to;

type of splice or joint may be utilized to connect the rail ends, as the distinctive feature sought to be covered herein resides in that of normally and yieldingly maintaining a rail joint'proper and the rail ends held therein,

elevated above or separated from the base joint support or bridge and at the same time msulating the rail ends from said support or bridge and ermitting the rails to seek andfind a rigid earin on said joint support, or bridge when the oad is imposed t ereon. For the urpose of exemplifying this novel form of g 'oint's,

odiment thereof illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. In these-figures of the drawin s A A designate the adjacent rail through the employment of t e side "joint plates 1 1 which are secured in place throu h the medium of the usual joint belts 2. provide for insulation sheets 3 are inter o sed ,between the opposing faces of the rai s-"an'd the side joint p ates 1, and end post 4 is interposed and held betweenthe rail ends A A in a manner common to many of the ordinary t The bolts :2 are a so eqlilililpped at their ends with the insulating bus also the usual insulatingase construction for insulated rail reference is made to the suggested emends w ch are unitedor cou led together 0 the necessary insulation of a com ,j mon form of rail joint of this kind, the side es of insulated rail joints,-

p or girdertype.

.shall be proper insulation between thesaid function"of-. liolding I nosed thereon .form of a metal'base pleting the general scheme of insulation 'for the rail joint proper.

The feature of providing suitable base insulation for-the rail ends is provided for by the present invention, and in connectionwith the form of construction being described, it

will be observed that thereis associated with the rail joint proper '(above described a joint supporting base 6. This my be in the plate of the reinforced It is iiitended that there supporting base 6 and the rails while at the same time a separation is maintained be tween these elements. To eflect this, various forms of construction may be resorted to, but in the one now referred to, a plurality of insulating springs 7 may be interposed be- 7 tween the metal supporting base 6 and the base "of the rails A A, said springs being of sl'ifiicientnormal projection and strength to provide for maintaining the rail ends inan elevated position with the said metal supporting base. The

said' insulating springs 7 may. be of rubber,

composition, or of equivalent material pos-. sessing the necessary elastic and insulating qualities, or said springs may be of metal with a sheet oflinsulating material between the springs and the rail, or between the springs and their supporting base. The same much as'the elements 7 provide the necessary j signalingconditions," by keeping the rails oflthe base support, and ,at the same time permits the and the rails .to seek and finda insulation under norma pport when the weight of the above and out of contact bearing projections or 'lates 8 surthe springs 7 in position holding the ral e results .joint pro er- 'bg'se re e' I claim:

1. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails and the joint proper, of .a joint supporting base adapted to be engaged by the rails, and means for yieldingly maintaining a separation of the rails from said base.

2. In 'a rail joint, the combination withthe rails, and the ing base adapted to be engaged by the rails, and means for normally maintaining a separation of the rails from the said base.

3. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails and the joint proper, of'a joint support: ing base adapted to be engaged by the rails, and means for normally and yieldingly maintaining a separation joint support.

of the rails from the joint proper, of a joint s'upport- 4. In a rail joint, the combination with the l 5 rails and the insulated joint proper, of a joint supporting base adapted to, be engaged by the rails, and means for in'sulatingthe rails from the base and for maintaining a' normal separation of these parts.

5. In an insulated rail joint, the combination with the rails and the insulated joint proper, of a joint sup -orting base'adapted to be-engaged by the ral s, means for insulating the rails from the base; and means for nor mally and yieldingly'maintaining a separation of the rails fromlthe bas e. v v 6. In an insulated rail joint, the eombination'with the'rails and the'insulated joint proper, of a metal joint support-ing base adaptedto be engaged by the'rails, insulatin meansbetween the rails and said basefan means for normally and yieldingly maintaining a separation of the rails from saidbase.

,a rail rails, o asupiporting base, and means for when there is no load on the rails, and also joint, the combination with the out of contact with the base permittingthe latter .to come in contact with the base upon application ofthe load. In testimony whereof I hereunto. aflix my signature in thepresence of two witnesses. I BENJAMIN WOLHAUPTER. j. Witnesses; I v

' v f C B'. PITTENGER, I M.-SownRs, I 

